Monday, December 04, 2006

• Only one post per email. Only one email per contributor, this is not a work in progress- nail it and email it.

• Must be in By Friday 5PM PST. Winner to be announced Sunday night-ish 12/10.

• Winner to be selected by ....me. What? Like I was going to bring in an international panel of judges? Or Paula Abdul? Dream on, Sparky...

• No dirty Latin phrases. Trust me, they may be a hoot with the boys down at The Sodomized Leprechaun or whatever creepy neighborhood pub you hang out at, but they'll be as foreign to me as a salad is to Jonah Goldberg.

• Everyone is eligible except Victor Davis Hanson... for obvious reasons.

The numbers speak volumes: 100,000 costumes, 8,000 extras, 300 sets and a staggering budget in its day the largest in movie history. Ben-Hur's creators made it the best, the greatest Biblical-era epic ever. Charlton Heston brings a muscular physical and moral presence to the role of Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish nobleman in Palestine whose heroic odyssey includes enslavement by the Romans, a bold escape from an embattled slave galley, vengeance against his tormentors during a furious arena chariot race and fateful encounters with Jesus Christ. Heston's charismatic performance brought him the Best Actor Oscar; the winner as 1959's Best Picture with the legendary William Wyler earning his third Best Director trophy, the film won a total 11 Academy Awards -- a tally unequaled until 1997's Titanic set sail.